


you can run away with me (anytime you want)

by kamunamis



Category: Free!
Genre: Birthday, Fluff, Long-Distance Friendship, M/M, Middle School, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 13:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23711908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamunamis/pseuds/kamunamis
Summary: Kisumi wins most of the time, and he holds it over Asahi’s head every time, just because he’s only an inch taller. He wonders if Kisumi has grown since then. Asahi has only grown an inch, unfortunately.It’s been a few months since he had to move away from Iwatobi, but he still misses Kisumi a lot.a fic about long distance and surprises
Relationships: Shigino Kisumi & Shiina Asahi, Shigino Kisumi/Shiina Asahi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	you can run away with me (anytime you want)

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday asahi i love you forever and ever <3  
> thank you to [tara](https://itsmyusualweeb.tumblr.com) for beta'ing

It’s a bright and sunny morning on Asahi’s fourteenth birthday, and yet Asahi doesn’t feel as happy as he should be.

“Why are you sulking, isn’t it your birthday?” a classmate asks Asahi.

Asahi just laughs nervously. He misses his best friend, Kisumi. He feels weird telling his classmates, or anyone else for that matter, that he misses his best friend though, because it’s weird and they wouldn’t get it. They’d probably make fun of him for it.

Whenever he gets a letter from Kisumi in the mail, he’s always complaining about how people don’t seem to get why he misses Asahi so much. They’re best friends, and they always understand each other no matter what.

Sure, they can always write letters to each other, and Asahi is working on saving up for a cellphone by doing the stupid chores, ick, but it’s still not the same. The cellphone will help a little bit, so they can see each other’s faces and talk to each other faster, but nothing will compare to the excitement of seeing Kisumi in person. Walking to school together, waiting for each other before practices, and just being around him. He’s always happy around Kisumi, even when they’re teasing each other or whenever they race each other.

Kisumi wins most of the time, and he holds it over Asahi’s head every time, just because he’s only an inch taller. He wonders if Kisumi has grown since then. Asahi has only grown an inch, unfortunately.

It’s been a few months since he had to move away from Iwatobi, but he still misses Kisumi a lot.

The classmate waves a hand in front of him. “Hello?”

Asahi flushes, embarrassed. “Oh! Um, nothing. Just thinking about someone.”

“Someone? Ooh, who is it? Do you like them? Is it a girlfriend?”

“No,” Asahi gulps. “Just a friend. Go away.”

“Jeez, okay.” He leaves to go talk to his friends.

Asahi would like to punch this classmate, who he doesn’t even know by the way. How did he even know it was his birthday?  _ Whatever _ , Asahi thinks. That’s not important right now. He just wants to be out of school already so that he could go have fun.

Throughout most of the school day, he doesn’t stop thinking about what his classmate said. There’s no reason for him to be dwelling on this though.

Asahi does prefer Kisumi over the other kids at the old swim club. Haru and Ikuya always made fun of him, and he was just too awkward around Makoto, but Asahi just  _ clicked  _ with Kisumi. He still does, in fact, since he’s the only one Asahi has bothered to send letters to after the move. He tried writing letters to the other three, but it was too hard and frustrating. He could write pages and pages of letters to Kisumi, but not anyone else.

That doesn’t mean that he  _ likes  _ Kisumi, does it?

No, of course not. Asahi thinks it’s stupid that this is getting to him. He doesn’t even like boys, or girls, or anyone. Trying to build the swim club here is more important than crushes. Kisumi is just a great friend, and he would do anything to be next to him today. He doesn’t want to celebrate his birthday without him.

He expects to see Kisumi waiting for him outside the school entrance, just like before, only to be disappointed when he doesn’t see him. Asahi doesn’t know why he thinks today would be any different.

“Looking for someone?” an all-too-familiar voice says from behind him.

Asahi turns around to see Kisumi beaming at him. 

They run over to hug each other.

“What are you doing here?” Asahi asks once they pull apart from the hug. “How did you know where I was?”

Kisumi laughs. “I couldn’t miss your birthday, and my parents drove here! And then your parents told us where the school is!”

“How long are you staying for?”

“‘Til Sunday!” Kisumi says excitedly. 

“Kisumi… I…” Asahi doesn’t know what else to say, so he pulls him in for another tight hug.

He can hear whispering in the background, but he doesn’t care, because Kisumi’s  _ here _ .

“Come on, let’s get ice cream! Race you there!” Asahi says, eager to spend the rest as much time as possible with him.

“No fair!” Kisumi whines. “You know the place better than I do.”

It’s Asahi’s first win in their races, and the two of them enter the ice cream shop out of breath.

They order two bowls of ice cream, one strawberry and one chocolate, and the two of them argue over who’s going to pay for the ice cream.

“I’m not supposed to let the guest pay, that’s good manners!” Asahi says.

“Well, you’re the birthday boy, I’m not supposed to make you pay either!”

The clerk clears his throat. “Kids, I don’t care who pays, just pay.”

Kisumi ends up slapping the yen onto the counter, and then they walk over to one of the tables. 

“I… um…” Is it okay for Asahi to say that he misses Kisumi? Probably, they are best friends after all, but Asahi doesn’t want Kisumi to think that it’s weird. “I’m glad you’re here.” He cringes internally once he says it.

Kisumi giggles. “You missed me, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Asahi says. “I did.” There’s a warm feeling in his chest, and he wishes that Kisumi could stay with him forever, that he doesn’t go back to Iwatobi without him.

Is this what having a crush is like? His sister would always describe how she feels about her crushes, but she usually gets over them quickly only to fall for someone else. He doesn’t want that, he doesn’t want to get over Kisumi quickly as selfish as that sounds. 

Huh. So maybe he has  _ more  _ than a crush on Kisumi.

**Author's Note:**

> [find me here](https://sudden-sky.tumblr.com)


End file.
